Posted on 04/27/2012 6:57:39 AM PDT by EternalVigilance
April 27, 2012
I deal on a regular daily basis with self-identified conservatives all across America who are addicted to the Republican Party. And when it comes to the impending nomination by their party of the most liberal governor in U.S. history, Mitt Romney, their reactions are overwhelmingly in line with the classic symptoms described below. We can't make them face reality, of course. All we can do is to keep pointing it out to them, in the sincere hope that they will recover in time to help save the country.
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From Wikipedia :
Denial (also called abnegation) is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may use:
The concept of denial is particularly important to the study of addiction. The theory of denial was first researched seriously by Anna Freud. She classified denial as a mechanism of the immature mind, because it conflicts with the ability to learn from and cope with reality. Where denial occurs in mature minds, it is most often associated with death, dying and rape.
In this form of denial, someone avoids a fact by lying. This lying can take the form of an outright falsehood (commission), leaving out certain details to tailor a story (omission), or by falsely agreeing to something (assent, also referred to as "yessing" behavior). Someone who is in denial of fact is typically using lies to avoid facts they think may be painful to themselves or others.
This form of denial involves avoiding personal responsibility by:
Someone using denial of responsibility is usually attempting to avoid potential harm or pain by shifting attention away from themselves.
For example: Troy breaks up with his girlfriend because he is unable to control his anger, and then blames her for everything that ever happened.
Denial of impact involves a person's avoiding thinking about or understanding the harms of his or her behavior has caused to self or others, i.e. denial of the consequences. Doing this enables that person to avoid feeling a sense of guilt and it can prevent him or her from developing remorse or empathy for others. Denial of impact reduces or eliminates a sense of pain or harm from poor decisions.
This type of denial is best discussed by looking at the concept of state dependent learning. People using this type of denial will avoid pain and harm by stating they were in a different state of awareness (such as alcohol or drug intoxication or on occasion mental health related). This type of denial often overlaps with denial of responsibility.
Many who use this type of denial will say things such as, "it just happened". Denial of cycle is where a person avoids looking at their decisions leading up to an event or does not consider their pattern of decision making and how harmful behavior is repeated. The pain and harm being avoided by this type of denial is more of the effort needed to change the focus from a singular event to looking at preceding events. It can also serve as a way to blame or justify behavior (see above).
This can be a difficult concept for many people to identify with in themselves, but is a major barrier to changing hurtful behaviors. Denial of denial involves thoughts, actions and behaviors which bolster confidence that nothing needs to be changed in one's personal behavior. This form of denial typically overlaps with all of the other forms of denial, but involves more self-delusion. Denial at this level can have significant consequences both personally and at a societal level.
Harassment covers a wide range of offensive behaviour. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset. In the legal sense, it is behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing.
DARVO is an acronym to describe a common strategy of abusers: Deny the abuse, then Attack the victim for attempting to make them accountable for their offense, thereby Reversing Victim and Offender.
Psychologist Jennifer Freyd writes:
...I have observed that actual abusers threaten, bully and make a nightmare for anyone who holds them accountable or asks them to change their abusive behavior. This attack, intended to chill and terrify, typically includes threats of law suits, overt and covert attacks on the whistle-blower's credibility, and so on. The attack will often take the form of focusing on ridiculing the person who attempts to hold the offender accountable. [...] [T]he offender rapidly creates the impression that the abuser is the wronged one, while the victim or concerned observer is the offender. Figure and ground are completely reversed. [...] The offender is on the offense and the person attempting to hold the offender accountable is put on the defense.
You note nothing of the sort.
You lied, I called you on it, now you are dissembling.
Deval Patrick is more liberal than Mitt Romney, and you are a liar.
Everyone on this thread know this to be the case including you.
Go run for President of your bathtub you preposterous little man.
But while you're waiting, the answer to the abortion question is that I am the author of the Equal Protection for Posterity Resolution. This document is part of the America's Party Platform and the America's Party Leadership Pledge as well.
And I'm the only presidential candidate that American Right to Life lists as a Tier One pro-lifer.
Which in reality is a vote for Barack Obama. As far as this board goes I think most of us preferred another candidate than Romney. But, I hope we can remember that the objective here is to remove Obama while we still have a functioning republic. While this goes on we can hopefully work to influence Romney and move him to the right right.
There is rightful angst about his history in liberal Massachusetts but, I think some folks are going overboard. One post here says he is "the most liberal governor ever".That's a bit out there considering Jimmy Carter, Jerry Brown, John Corzine and Bill Richardson.
This primary season has been a disappointment and I pray we don't cut off our nose to spite our face by reelecting Barack Obama when we can still rally up and move the needle. One way we do that is to stay focused on the goal and work nationally to put as many strong conservatives in congress as possible. With the Supreme Court and National Security to think about it seems short sighted to me to defeat our selves over social issues that are not set in stone by any means and are not dictated by just the President.
>>simple denial: deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether
>
>I deny that Romney is the only person that can stop Obama. Sarah Palin working with secret forces in the Newt camp will force a brokered convention!
And hopefully we will come away with 14 points. [/sarc]
>>It’s true. I have friends and family who don’t want to hear me talk about Romney’s record. I think the less they know, the more comfortable they will be pulling the lever for him.<<
Please convince me.
Because I am so scared of another four years of Obama, bringing in the Muslim Brotherhood, telling the Russians to “just hang on”, the executive orders, the jackbooted EPA, etc, etc.
Tell me the alternative. Give me your best case scenario. Back when Newt or Sarah would save us, I was there. Even Santorum, I wouldn’t have voted for Mitt in a million years. But I don’t want my kids living under Sharia or Communism. Ask an Eastern European how it looked and where the US is going under Obama.
So tell me. What is so great about four more years of Obama? I detest Mitt. With my whole heart. And maybe you can help me.
Well, he's lived there for forty years so there is that.
I deny Romney, I will no more come out for Romney than publicly announce that I have a social disease.
You an assert it until the cows come home, and call names, but you haven't offered any evidence to refute anything I said about Romney's record.
Our program is superior.
And I’m not throwing bricks. I’m trying to get conservatives to face reality.
Because until they do face reality, the country can’t be restored.
>>Sarah Palin working with secret forces in the Newt camp will force a brokered convention!<<
Is that true? If this is true I feel much better.
You’ve really inspired me. I think I’ll run for President, myself, under the banner of the “Not A Snowball’s Chance in H*ll” party.
My donation website will be up shortly.
I hear ya. But in this case what was there was sufficient to make the point.
The two statements are contradictory in this context.
You lied. Me pointing this out is not calling you a name, it is just me stating the truth.
You do not believe that Mitt Romney is more liberal than Deval Patrick. That is why you won’t explicitly say that you do believe this.
Instead all you do is play dishonest word games.
People on this thread have wondered why conservatives don’t just form a third party, and why existing third party candidates are all such weirdos. You are an excellent object lesson in the fallen nature of humankind and the difficulty of creating honorable political movements.
Through this thread you have made Mitt Romney look better.
You aren’t even going to win the vote in your own bathtub.
My campaign doesn't take donations though. Neither does our national party, nor do our state parties. Instead, we urge folks to expend their resources where 100% of it goes directly to the real need.
I think you’ve lost the argument. I’ll try not to take your insults personally though. You’re going through a process.
It is not true. It is just someone's dream.
Running for President is very difficult, time-consuming, expensive, and it takes a lot of talented people working together.
Newt and Sarah simply can't do it this year. Newt tried and it didn't work out for him. Sarah chose not to try. There is now no time, talent, or money available to them to run for President.
The primaries are essentially over. The nominees will be Obama and Romney and a handful of people who will win nothing.
Realville. Welcome.
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